Maybe this has been covered before, if so sorry but forum search revealed nothing. (No doubt DD will prove me wrong)
Considering the litigious nature of some countries and safety nanny paranoid state of others, (USA, Scandinavia spring to mind) why is it that in these places you can set fuel pumps to auto fill with the nozzle trigger clip "thingumajig" and we cannot do this in UK?
Yet the other day using an HGV pump in UK realised that this pump had the necessary "thingumajig" device so the pump could be set and left running while I wandered around cleaning lights etc until the fuel flow shut off automatically.
Any logical reason?
FiF
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Now you mention this, I remember that pumps used to have an auto-set feature. I can't remember when they were discontinued, or why.
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A Google for "petrol station automatic" returned this link to the Health and Safety Executive web site:
www.hse.gov.uk/lau/lacs/65-51.htm
Item 20 seems to have the answer:
"Trigger latching mechanisms are acceptable on petrol pump nozzles operated by an attendant. However, site operators should be aware that latched nozzles have been implicated in a number of forecourt fires. Static charge is able to build up on users if they let go of the earthed nozzle during dispensing and this can subsequently cause an incendive discharge when they make contact with the nozzle again to complete the transaction. Where trigger-latching mechanisms are installed the site operator should ensure that attendants are provided with, and wear, appropriate anti-static footwear whilst carrying out dispensing operations."
I guess diesel doesn't carry the same static related fire risk as petrol, so for HGVs with enormous tanks, latched triggers can be used.
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Probably I am remembering the early days of self-service, when the old attendant-operated pumps were still in use, but became self-service. It is funny though how practices that are considered safe in the rest of the world are deadly dangerous in the UK. Perhaps it's our hot climate.
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Did you use an HGV pump to fill a car? Most HGV pumps I have seen ban such practices as the fuel is delivered quicker.
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Did you use an HGV pump to fill a car? Most HGV pumps I have seen ban such practices as the fuel is delivered quicker.
No it was to fill a truck, speed limited :( drove me batty.
Still managed to resist the temptation to bypass the limiter to alleviate the boredom and thus avoid the necessity for 5 mile long overtakes. ;)
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\"appropriate anti-static footwear whilst carrying out dispensing operations.\"
I think that is like telling a sparky to wear rubber boots while working on a live wire.static discharges anywhere it wants
when it wants to.besides I thought an additive was introduced to inflammable liquids to prevent static being a problem.Only what I read so may be wrong?
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I know that the road tankers have electrostatic dissipative tyres, we are still talking in megaohms with these shoes/tyres etc.. but that's sufficient when the charge can be millions of volts.
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I carry a short length of wire on the car keyring so that it can be inserted in the fuel nozzle handle so that the latching mechanism works. Have done since I first had a company car 20 years ago. Didn't realise I was an incendiary hazard.
Very useful, this feature, 'cos you need both hands to light the ciggy :-o ...
Hawkeye
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Stranger in a strange land
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"Very useful, this feature, 'cos you need both hands to light the ciggy :-"
As long as you use anti-static footwear to stamp on the cigarette butt you are OK
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